Finn Russell and his Racing 92 teammates in the Champions Cup semi-final won against the English Saracens, September 26, 2020. -
Franck Fife / AFP
Decisive in the semi-final of the Champions Cup, opener Finn Russell is again eagerly awaited on Saturday in Bristol, on the occasion of the final against Exeter.
The brilliant Scotsman masters the entire range of his position, adding an instinctive side that makes him unique.
His talent, his background and his personality made him a star in his country, as well as a star of world rugby.
On Saturday, Racing 92 will play the most important match in its recent history across the Channel, in Bristol.
After its failures in the 2016 finals (against Saracens) and 2018 (against Leinster), the venerable Ile-de-France club will try to hook a first European Cup to its record, to the detriment of the English of Exeter.
If, after the Shield of Brennus gleaned four years ago, the wealthy President Jacky Lorenzetti can still hope to achieve his continental Grail, he owes it in large part to Finn Russell.
The 28-year-old opening half turned the semi-final against the Saracens, thanks to a small kick over the defense (or "chip", his specialty) for Virimi Vakatawa, which resulted in the decisive essay by Juan Imhoff.
Yet another stroke of genius out of the Scottish magic box.
🏉🇪🇺 # R92vSAR
⏱ 76 '|
19-15
😍 YESII!
What an essay by Juan Imhoff following this superb movement of the Parisians!
Racing is less than 5 minutes from the final!
🖥️ The match live: https://t.co/py5z8luQJL pic.twitter.com/My9deLGY2z
- France tv sport (@francetvsport) September 26, 2020
"Russell is revolutionizing the position of number 10", judge bluntly Christophe Lamaison, the opener of the XV of France hero of the unforgettable and stunning semi-final of the 1999 World Cup, against the All Blacks.
“My 17-year-old son, who also plays at the opening at Aviron Bayonnais, loves him and talks to me about it often.
He goes out of the frame.
"
Converted into renewable energies, “Titou” Lamaison appreciates the breath of fresh air brought by the former Glasgow Warriors player: “At one point, we were in the Anglo-Saxon, Wilkinson type: occupation of the field, fairly pragmatic footing.
Russell has it all, but he also has that instinctive side to taking initiative, which you can only have when you have the total confidence of your club and teammates.
"
Finn, this Scottish "hero"
Of course, the Racingman, who arrived in France two years ago, is also Anglo-Saxon, but without the rigid side often associated with this AOC.
"For most Scottish fans Finn is a hero," says Andy Burke, sports reporter at BBC Scotland.
It had been a long time since we had seen a player like him, with an instinctive and creative game, wearing the number 10 in the selection.
He is incredibly skillful and crucial to Scottish ambitions.
"
Would @finn_russell be in your Scotland starting XV next weekend?
Seven days to go until @WelshRugbyUnion and @Scotlandteam go head to head @principalitysta in Cardiff .... #RoadToTheSixNations pic.twitter.com/e15Vuxxhx8
- Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) October 27, 2018
Decisive against the English “enemy” during the 2018 VI Nations Tournament (25-13 victory at Murrayfield) then in 2019 (38-38 at Twickenham), Russell is on the list of 40 players called up for the test matches of autumn.
It could not be more logical sporting of course, but long unimaginable after the spectacular quarrel with his coach Gregor Townsend because of a drunken evening, which had earned him to be fired from the XV at Chardon in January.
The Caledonian oval, relegated to the invading shadow of football, will not complain.
"Finn is one of the few players in the country whose notoriety goes beyond the sphere of rugby", continues Andy Burke.
A celebrity that this heir to Carlos Spencer, the whimsical opener of the Blacks at the turn of the millennium, owes of course to his talent, but also to his career and his personality.
"Plug and play"
Apprentice mason in adolescence, the boy carries a refreshing carefreeness in the increasingly sanitized world of pro rugby.
"You can smile on the field for three seconds, that does not prevent you from being concentrated in the next second," Russell confided on Thursday in
L'Equipe
.
I'm lucky to be able to unplug and plug back in quickly.
"
“He wants to have fun on a field and it shows, appreciates Christophe Lamaison.
It is somewhat in the register of rugby before.
»Including the template.
If the compatriot of William Wallace has grown over the years (1.82 m, 87 kg today), he does not sport the “six-packs” abs usually delivered with the modern three-quarter.
“His nickname at the start of his career was 'The Muscle', because in fact, he didn't have much muscle,” laughs Andy Burke.
However, do not imagine a troubadour dilettante, who discovers the players opposite at kick-off after a sleepless night at Macumba.
"I always watch the last three or four games of our opponents," Russell told
L'Equipe
.
This Saturday, he will find well-known faces in Exeter, those of his compatriots Jonny Gray and Stuart Hogg, the other offensive star of the Scottish XV.
A word of advice from Andy Burke: Take a good look at Finn Russell's face when you turn on the TV.
“When he plays with a smile, it usually means his team is going to have a good day.
And rugby fans too.
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